tag

Liverpool great Steven Gerrard believes the club still need Mohamed Salah as he urged the star forward to “reverse away” from an extraordinary outburst where he accused the faltering Premier League champions of “throwing him under the bus”. The Egypt international was omitted from the squad that travelled to Italy for Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League win at Inter Milan following a blistering attack on manager Arne Slot and the club hierarchy after being left on the bench for last weekend’s 3-3 draw at Leeds. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled Salah a “disgrace” for his comments but Gerrard urged the player and management to reunite for the good of everyone at Anfield. “He’s obviously really upset he’s not playing, which I respect,” former Liverpool captain Gerrard told TNT Sports. “A couple of lines about throwing people under the bus, wrong. Need to reverse a little bit away from that, to deal with that with the manager.” Gerrard added bust-ups between players and management were nothing new. “I’ve seen this and I’ve lived it with (Luis) Suarez when he fell out with Brendan (Rodgers) face to face. I’ve been there and done it myself. I did the Salah statements in 30 seconds against (Manchester) United and got sent off,” he explained. “So no one’s perfect and we’ve all had head loss as players, where we’ve done emotional things,” said Gerrard, who hoped Salah would eventually realise he had been a “bit emotional and a bit hasty”. Salah’s remarks sparked reports that Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer in history could leave Anfield in January despite signing a lucrative new contract in April.The 33-year-old posted a picture of himself training alone in Liverpool’s weights room on Tuesday. Salah’s outburst has piqued interest in Saudi Arabia with a source at the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) telling AFP it will do “whatever it can” to buy him.‘Best player’ Gerrard, however, said: “At the end of the day, Liverpool need Mo Salah back playing well, scoring goals because he is the best player, the best scorer, and he will help them get out of this. If this goes on, this is bigger than what we all know and what we see.” Dutch boss Slot tried to put the focus back on his side after Dominik Szoboszlai’s controversial late penalty gave the six-time European champions all three points at the San Siro by saying “the ones that are here, they deserve all the credits”. Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations after next weekend’s home Premier League match against Brighton. An unused substitute at Leeds, Salah told reporters at Elland Road: “I said many times before that, I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship. “I don’t know why but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club.” Salah made his explosive comments in the midst of a dismal season for both him and Liverpool. He has played a key role in Liverpool’s two Premier League titles and one Champions League triumph during his iconic spell on Merseyside. But he has scored just four goals in 13 Premier League appearances this season, with Liverpool 10th in the table. 

Mohamed Salah reported for Liverpool training Tuesday as doubts grow about the star’s future at the Premier League champions with Saudi clubs intent on making a move for the striker in the winter transfer window. The 33-year-old Egypt forward was left out of Liverpool’s squad for their Champions League tie at Inter Milan following his extraordinary public criticism of Reds manager Arne Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game. Salah said after the 3-3 draw with Leeds on Sunday that he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and no longer had a relationship with Slot, sparking reports that Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer in history could be on his way out of Anfield in January despite signing a lucrative new contract in April. He posted a picture of himself training alone in Liverpool’s weights room Tuesday. Salah’s outburst has piqued interest in Saudi Arabia with a source at the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) saying it will do “whatever it can” to buy him. “We follow Salah’s position thoroughly and believe there can be a move either by loan or buying his contract,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Asked at a pre-match press conference in Milan on Monday whether Salah, who has scored 250 times for Liverpool since signing from Roma in 2017, had played his last game for the Reds, Slot replied: “I have no clue.” “He has every right to feel what he feels, but he doesn’t have the right to share it with the media,” Slot added. The Saudi source said there were “no direct negotiations or talks with the club at the moment but there will be a move at the right moment”. The PIF source said the Gulf monarchy wanted to sign the Egyptian winger in January to join stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League. PIF holds a 75 percent share in Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad, but the source said it was not alone in wanting the Arab world’s biggest football star. “There is a competition inside the Saudi league who will bring Salah,” the source said, adding that the Al Qadsiah club backed by Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil and gas company Aramco was also keen. Ronaldo plays for Al Nassr, Salah’s former Liverpool teammate Darwin Nunez is at Al-Hillal, another former Premier League player of the season N’Golo Kante is at Al-Ittihad, but Salah is the biggest star from an Arab country along with Paris Saint-Germain’s Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi. Salah, who was not even used as a substitute at Elland Road, is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations after next weekend’s home Premier League match against Brighton. He said he was “very, very disappointed” to have again been named among the substitutes at Leeds, adding: “I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am on the bench for three games so I can’t say they keep the promise. I said many times before that, I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club.” Salah made his explosive comments in the midst of a dismal season for both him and Liverpool. He has played a key role in Liverpool’s two Premier League titles and one Champions League triumph during his iconic spell on Merseyside. But he has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season – the title-holders are 10th in the Premier League – with just four goals in 13 top-flight appearances. “All players have their ups and downs. Salah is just 33 and has a lot to do here,” insisted the PIF source. “Salah is a beloved footballer around the globe and will have a massive impact on the Saudi League both on and off the pitch.” 

Mohamed Salah wants to put a disappointing start to his season with Liverpool behind him Wednesday and help Egypt beat Djibouti and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.A win for the record seven-time African champions over one of the lowest ranked teams in the continent will give them an unassailable lead over second-placed Burkina Faso in Group A with one match to spare.A two-time African Footballer of the Year, Salah has lost his spark with the Premier League champions, scoring just three goals in nine appearances in all competitions this season. Last season, the 33-year-old netted 29 times in 38 league matches to win the Golden Boot award as Liverpool surged to a record-equalling 20th Premier League title.Salah has fond memories of playing against Djibouti, scoring four goals in a 6-0 Cairo romp in the opening round of World Cup qualifying two years ago.It does not help Djibouti that they do not have a FIFA-approved stadium, so their ‘home’ match against Egypt will be staged in the Moroccan commercial capital Casablanca.Three subsequent goals took Salah to seven in the qualifying campaign, one less than chart-topper Denis Bouanga of Gabon with two rounds remaining.Fellow Egypt forward Mostafa Mohamed, who plays for French Ligue 1 outfit Nantes, is not concerned about Salah, telling reporters the lack of goals is “a temporary setback”.“Mo is a big star, and we are lucky to have him in our team. He is the best player in the history of Egypt,” he told the FIFA website.“He is amazing. For me, he has a great personality. I love him a lot. He is a wonderful player,” added Mohamed, who also scored against Djibouti.Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has an embarrassment of attacking riches, Apart from Salah and Mohamed, he can call on Omar Marmoush, Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan and Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed.Given Djibouti have lost seven of eight qualifiers and lie 158 places below Egypt in the FIFA rankings, it would be a shock if they prevent the Pharaohs sealing a fourth World Cup appearance.Algeria set to qualifyAlgeria and Cape Verde are the other two countries who can clinch places at the World Cup with matchday nine victories, and join already-qualified Morocco and Tunisia in North and Central America next year.Senegal, reigning African champions Ivory Coast and Ghana could also take unassailable leads, but they must win and hope other group results favour them.Group C, where Benin lead South Africa on goal difference and Nigeria and Rwanda are three points behind, is the one section where a qualifier cannot emerge before the final round, starting on Sunday.Like Egypt, Algeria can qualify if they secure maximum points against a much lower ranked opponent. The Desert Foxes have the added advantage of playing an ‘away’ Group G match against Somalia at home.Security concerns prevent Somalia staging matches in Mogadishu, and a 163-place rankings gap behind Algeria demonstrates the difficult challenge facing the Ocean Stars in Oran on Thursday.Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic has called up for the first time Luca Zidane, a 27-year-old goalkeeper with Spanish second-tier club Granada and son of French great Zinedine Zidane.Luca, who qualifies for Algeria because his paternal grandparents were born there, has switched international allegiance after representing France at youth levels.Algeria are seeking a fifth appearance at the global showpiece, while Cape Verde are hoping to qualify for the first time. They face Libya in Tripoli on Wednesday.A former Portuguese colony, Cape Verde is a group of islands off the west coast with about 550,000 inhabitants.Qualification would make them the African country with the smallest population to do so.Even if the Cape Verdeans fail in Libya, they will get a second chance on Monday to collect three points needed to finish above Cameroon when they host bottom team Eswatini in Group D.Ghana will win Group I Wednesday if they beat the Central African Republic and Madagascar do not collect maximum points against the Comoros.Senegal can qualify from Group B if they win in South Sudan on Friday and the Democratic Republic of Congo fail to win in Togo.Ivory Coast, who last featured at a World Cup in 2014, would return if they win away to the Seychelles and Gabon lose to the Gambia.Failure to win a group does not spell the end of the road, though. The four best-ranked runners-up enter African play-offs in November from which the winners go to intercontinental play-offs in March.